Mind the sleigh! Airlines given permission to fly over North Pole for the first time slashing the hours to exotic destinations

Until now, Boeing’s 777 and the new 787 ‘Dreamliner’ jets had for safety reasons to stay within a three hour range (180 minutes) of the nearest diversion airport. Under the new rules, that has been nearly doubled to five and a half hours, (330 minutes) taking account of improvements in aircraft and engine technology. It means, for example, that planes from the UK will be able to take a non-stop flight - dubbed 'Santa's short cut' - over the North Pole to destinations such as… (www.dailymail.co.uk) More...